The present invention relates to high-rise buildings. More particularly, the invention relates to pressure distribution and regulation in such high-rise buildings.
In a high-rise building, water pressure within piping units of thermal equipment, such as a refrigerator, a boiler and a heat exchanger, may be directly associated with the structural integrity of the building. For example, in buildings with more than about 20 stories, pressure in the piping units in excess of about 10 kg/cm2 may cause weight and vibration problems. For safety reasons, this may require the use of steel pipe for pressure service (SPPS). Furthermore, this may also require the use of stronger and more expensive material during construction to meet the building code. Accordingly, the thermal equipment is generally distributively installed on the intermediate floors and/or on the top floor of the building to stably and accurately control the pressure within the piping units. However, as the height of the building increases, distributive installation proportionately increases the floor space used to house thermal equipment. Moreover, the distribution of the thermal equipment may increase the complexity of the pressure control system.
In one aspect, a multi-stage pressure distribution and pressure regulation system is disclosed. The system includes at least one heating and cooling load having a supply side and a return side, a heat source supply system for supplying thermo-fluid to the at least one heating and cooling load, and a booster pumping system including at least one booster pump for transferring the thermo-fluid from the heat source supply system to the supply side of the at least one heating and cooling load for maintaining a predetermined head pressure. The multi-stage system also includes at least one pressure regulating system including at least one pressure reducing and sustaining device for reducing the pressure of the thermo-fluid flowing from the return side of the at least one heating and cooling load and sustaining the pressure at the predetermined head pressure.
In another aspect, a method for distributing fluid pressure acting on piping units of a building is disclosed. The method includes providing booster pumps in multiple stages at appropriate intermediate floors of the building to build sufficient pressure on a supply side of heating and cooling loads, and providing pressure reducing valves in multiple stages at appropriate intermediate floors of the building to reduce the pressure on a return side of the heating and cooling loads.